Scoop: AOC shakes up team ahead of 2028 decision
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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) speaks Friday at a "Defend the Vote" rally at the Lincoln Memorial, on the 63rd anniversary of the "March on Washington." Photo: Ken Cedeno/AFP via Getty Images
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is shaking up her team with several departures and new aides, sources tell Axios.
Why it matters: The personnel changes come months before the progressive leader will decide whether to launch a presidential campaign. She's also weighing a run for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's seat, which is also up in 2028.
Driving the news: Ocasio Cortez's years-long campaign manager and senior adviser Oliver Hidalgo-Wohlleben is departing in September, two people familiar with the matter told Axios.
- Fiorella Bini, a longtime aide to AOC, took over as interim campaign manager this month.
- Aya Saed, Ocasio-Cortez's former legislative director, returned to her operation this spring as a deputy chief of staff in her House office and an adviser to her campaign.
- At the same time, Tanushri Shankar-Ross, who left AOC's team in 2023, has come back as a senior adviser, Puck first reported.
- AOC's creative director Tyler Evans, who had been with her since 2021 — sometimes in a freelance role — also left this summer, according to his LinkedIn page.
The intrigue: The moves have coincided with the expansion of the portfolio of AOC's chief of staff, Mike Casca, people familiar with her operation said.
- Casca, 37, was senior communications adviser for Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-Vt.) 2020 presidential campaign, and then deputy chief of staff in Sanders' Senate office before joining Ocasio-Cortez's team in late 2023.
The big picture: Ocasio-Cortez has a small, tight-knit team that's relatively young compared to the teams of other potential 2028 presidential candidates.
- But she is close to Sanders and can tap into some of his political infrastructure if she wants to quickly ramp up to a presidential or Senate campaign operation.
- Ocasio-Cortez recently appeared in content for More Perfect Union, a progressive media operation aimed at the working class that's led by former Sanders campaign manager Faiz Shakir.
- AOC's campaign already uses the progressive consulting firm Middle Seat, which was founded by former Sanders officials.
Other former Sanders advisers are already working with other potential 2028 presidential contenders.
- Several aides from Sanders' 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns are working with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.).
- Tim Tagaris, a top digital aide for both of Sanders' presidential runs, and his firm Aisle 518 Strategies have helped California Gov. Gavin Newsom — another possible contender for the White House — build his formidable fundraising email list.
What they're saying: "I never believed I would get to do a job like this let alone walk away from one," Hidalgo-Wohlleben told Axios. "But after running nonstop since the 2020 primaries, I also know it's the right time for me to take a break."
- He praised Ocasio-Cortez as "committed to fighting for a better world," and added: "Whatever's next for Alex, she's got my support. Like everyone else, I can't wait to see what's in store."
